Electric battery



Feb. 17. 1925.

R` C. BENNER ELECTRIC BATTERY Filed March ll, 192C 4 y w@ Smil i Patented Feb. 17, 1925.

UNITED .STATES PMaN'rv OFFICE.

RAYMOND C. BENNER, OF FREMONT, OHIO, ASSIGNORTO NATIONAL CARBON COMPANY, INCWA CORPORATION OF YORK.

ELECTRIC BATTERY.

Application led March 11, 1920. Serial No. 365,058.

T o all whom t ymay concern:

Be it known that I, RAYMOND C. BENNER,

f a citizen of the United States, residing at Fremont, in the county of 'Sandusky and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electric Batteries, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to dry cells of the deferred action type in which allof the necessary constituents are incorporated in the cell and combined in such cooperative relationship as to permit the cell to be made ready for action by a single manipulation.` Patent'l,289,fl-33 to H. F. French illustrates f a ell of this kind and in certain respects the"y present invention may be considered'to be an improvement in4 certain structural features utilized therein.v The present cell resembles the structure shown in lthe patent, in-utilizing a supply of activating material at the lower end of the mix, adapted to be forced into operative" relationship to the electrode.

In this and similar types of cells, spacers have been considered necessary around the mix to prevent displacement of the bobbin.V

These spacers interfere with the passage of the activating material linto the operative position when the activating material is in the form of a relati-vely heavy paste, and may also result in non-uniform distribution of said material. In cells of this type a` wet mix is desirable,vb\ut if spacers are used it has been found that it is diicult to pre- Vent electrolyte from creeping over the spacers to the zinc and producing corrosion.

One of the objects of the present invention is to eliminate the spacers and to provide a construction in which substantially uniform resistance is offered to the flow of the activating material into the space provided for this purpose.

Another object of the invention is to provide a simple, inexpensivev receptacle for ,i the activating `material which is adapted to be readily adjusted longitudinally on a hollow Zinc electrode, to activate the cell and to provide a closure for one end of the tubular Zinc.

Another object of the invention is to fa cilitate the introduction of the paste by utilizing short cups'for closing the ends of a tubular Zinc electrode.

A further object of the invention islto se- '.*Qure an `end 'cup adapted to retain the activatingsubstance and to' be supported onv the Zinc tube in two positions corresponding to the inactive and active conditions. j Other improvements residein the struc'- tural features hereafter describedi-n connec- `tion with the drawings in which l illustrates a structureembodying the invention, the parts being vshowniin partial,` vertical cross section'in their inactive relationship.

Fig. 2`isv a central vertical section `of the' cell shown in l, illustrating the relationship of "the parts'l when therell is renu dered active. a y

vFig 3 is a similar section of aniodification, the parts being shown in their 'inactive Il may be fitted around the carbon elec-U trede above the mix asshown'. To'support the bobbin an insulating disk 4 is fitted iny the zinc tube and a seal 5 poured thereover between the upper end of the zinc tube and vthe projecting end of the carbon electrode.

As stated above, a relativelyvheavy paste cannot be uniformly and readily forced into the space between the mix and zinc tube if spacers are placed therebetween, and moreover, carbon electrode, zinc tube and .mix are not held together sufficiently rigidly to permit the spacers to be safely omitted in the ordinary construction when utilizing such heavypastes. In accordance with the present invention, these several members mentioned are interlocked, for example, by

providing the zinc electrode with a circumfercntial flange or collar 6 projecting into lOl) the seal, and by irregularities or indcntad` tions on the `surface/vof the carbon electrode,

.such as at a plurality of notches located at points 7 and 8 adjoining the seal and mix reepeeuvely A disk 9 ie provided et the held 'securely in position without the use of` bottom of the mix to protect the lower edge.,

This construction enables Athe bobbin to be place activating material to activate the cell.

With the arrangement shown the activating material 10 preferably comprises a paste vof flour, starch, etc., and water or electrolyte' solution which is placed in a short waterproof cup 11. Although the construction 1s adaptable to activating substances of different consistency, it is especially7 useful in connection with relatively heavy pastes for the reasonspreviously set forth. A protective covering for the activating material isdesirable, especially with rather fluidl materia-ls, and for this purpose, I find lan insulating disk 12 and a seal 13 are satisfactory for retaining the material and preventing evaporation of moisture from the activating material. A seal of the character described can be readily'sheared from the cup by the mix bobbin, and is sufiiciently flexible to allow the activating material to pass around its edges.

The manner in which the cup is utilized is also an important feature of tlie`invention. As illustrated in the drawing, it is adapted to be `attached to the lower end of .the zinc tube in either of two positions, one' of which corresponds with the inactive position and the other with the active position. In the construction illustrated in Figs.. 1 and 2 this result is secured by forming a raised boss 14 at the lower end of the zinc tube, a vertical runway or groove 15 and two short substantially circumferential runways or grooves 16 and 17 connected thereto.

The' cup is attached to the Zinc tube in the inactive position by fitting the boss 14 in the upper end of runway 15 and then turning the cup so that the boss engages runway i 16. When t-he cell is put into action the cupis turned to draw the boss into runway 15 andY the cup and zinc displaced by relative longitudinal adjustment to force the lower end of the mix bobbin against the seal 13 to releasethe paste.` The latter will Y be slowly forced into the space between the bobbin and zinc and when the boss reaches theL runway 17 the cup will be turned to lockl l Y itito the end of the cell.

The construction also comprises a vent 18 inthe seal, for permitting the air to escape while the paste is being displaced. The vent will be temporarily closed by pressing a little parafiine 18 therein. A coating of parafiine or other .material 19 will usually be provided at the jilrztion of the cup and zinc scoped to assesses but the essential differences will be discussed as they illustra-te a modified method of securing results similar to,l those described. A dryv bobbin formed from a mix 20 of carbon and manganese dioxide with or without electrolyte salts, is molded around a carbon electrode 21. The bobbin thus ormed is placed in a zinc tube 22, the mix .being spaced from the zinc and the space `filled with a. dry pervious material 22 which may have electrolyte salts associated therewith. This material is more particularly described and claimed in United States patent to R. C. Benner and H. F. French, No. 1,481,178, Jan)` 15, 1924. When such materials are placed between the mix and the zinc electrode, these materials assistxin keeping the bobbin centered in the zinc electrode, especially when the cell is in inactive condition. For this reason if additional centering or spacing means are employed, they need not be so rigid as when the bobbin is otherwise unsupported. The dry pervious filling material, if granular or powdered, is held in place by a disc .of coherent and preferably pervious material 30. This latter disc readily ermits the passage of the activating liquid), which is usually quite fiuid in this form of cell, by permeation or iexture or fracture .of the disc. The activating material in this modification will be a liquid such as water or electrolyte solution, and its composition will depend upon the composition of the pervious material and the mix.

In this modification a zinc tube threaded at the lower end 23 is shown which cooperates with a short threaded cup 24 containing the activating material which is retained by a seal 25 and insulating disc 25 similar to those described in connection with the previous modification. A vent 26 at the top, and a parafiine coating 27 will be provided for the purpose referred to previously. The short screw threaded cup will be fastened tothezinc tube by screwing it thereon a short distance. so that the zinc tube just touches the seal, and when the cell is to be used the liquid will be released by screwing the cup on the tube until the bobbin and disks are forced against the bottom of the -to utilize the screw-threaded cup and tube ofthe second modification with the paste lll() and other structural features of the first modification; or the construction of tube and cup of the first modification with the liquid and dry paste-forming materials of the secondv modification.

In each ofthe constructions the cup may be madey of conducting or non-conducting jmaterials. If metal cups, such as zinc, are

used, these will preferably be pro-vided with an internal waterproof coating 29 unaffected by the activating material. Vhen non-conducting cups may be used the cups are prof vided with metallic bottoms lit-ted in the non-conducting side walls. In any of the modifications shown, when the bottom of the short cup containing the activating material is composed of metal, an additional disc of strawboard or the like 28may be placed on such 'metal bottom as an extra safeguard against any fragments of the mix coming into contact therewith.

When the activating material is displaced by relativemovement ofthecup and bob-.

bin, the zinc tube will be forced down into contact with the bottom of -the cup or the "materials resting thereupon. If it is desired to use the bottom of the cup" as one of the terminals of the cell, asis usual in ashlight batteries, the bottom of the cell must of course be made of conducting material such as metal. In such a case the discs 12, 25 and 28 are omitted or modified, and seals 13 and 25, and protective coating 29 if used, are made of fragile material such as'paraffin, so that there will be no'insulating material between the end of the zinc tube and the bottom of the cup except such as can readily seal surroundin 4 ycarbon electro e, .interlocking means be- Itween the seal and carbon electrode adaptbe penetrated or broken bythe end of the zinc tube. Electrical connection between the zinc tube and the conducting cup bottom will then readily be obtained by forcing these parts together.

Having described my invention, what I claim is:

l. A dry cell ofthe kind4 described, comprising a hollow zinc electrode, a depolar- 'izing mix therein spaced therefrom, a carbon.

elect-rode in the mix projecting therefrom, a the projecting end of the ed to prevent displacement oft-he carbon electrode, a receptacle, a supply of activatingmaterial in the receptacle normally lout of co-ntact with the mix and adapted tobe L' moved into contact therewith `by longitudinal adjustment of the zincyand receptacle to activate the cell,.'said interlocking means `'beingv adapted to preventv 'displacement of the mix and toprovide apassage` free from localized obstructions yfor. theactivating material; v 'f ,u

2. A dry cell of the kindydescrib'ed., com? prising ahollow zinc e-ltro'de, a depolarizingfmix therein spa-ced therefrom, a receptacle, a supply of activating material in the receptacle normally out of'contact with the mix and adapted to be moved into contact therewith by relative adjustment of the zinc and receptacle to activate the cell. and interlocking means between the seal and the zinc electrode adapted to prevent displacement of the mix and'to provide a passage free from localized obstructions for the activating material.

3. A dry cell of the kind described, com- .prising a hollow zinc electrode, a depolarcarbon electrode and the seal, said inter- L locking means being adapted to prevent displacement of the mix and to provide a. passage free from localized obstructions for the activating material.

ll. A dry cell of the kind described, comprising a hollow zinc electrode, a depolarizing mix therein spaced therefrom, a carbon electrode in the mix having an end projecting therefrom, a seal in the upperend of the zinc surrounding the projecting end of the carbon electrode, said carbon electrode having a plurality of interlocking irregularities in its surface adjoining the mix and seal adapted to retain the mix and prevent displacement of the carbon in the seal, a receptacle, a supply of activating material in the receptacle normally out of contact with the mix and adapted to be moved into contact 'therewith by relativeK longitudinal adjustment of the zine and receptacle to activate the cell, said carbon and interlocking mix and seal being adapted to space the mix from the zinc and to prevent displacement thereof and to provide a passage free from local-l ized obstructions for the activating material.

5. A dry cell ofthe kind described, comprising a tubular zinc electrode, a depolarizing mix, a carbon electrode in the mix having an end projecting therefrom, a seal in the upper end of the zinc electrode and surrounding the projecting end of thecarbon electrode, said carbon electrode having irregularities in the surface thereof adapted to interlock with the mix and' seal, and said tubular zinc electrode having a. flan e therein projecting into the seal, a receptac e, a. supply of activating material in the receptacle normally out of contact with the mix and' adapted to be moved into contact therewith by relative longitudinal adjustment of the zinc electrode and receptacle to activate the cell, said flange between the zinc electrode and seal and irregularities in the carbon electrode being adapted to prevent displacement of the mix whereby a passage free from localized obstructions is provided forthe activating material. p

6. A dry cell of the kind described, comrisinov a tubular zinc electrode ade )olar- P b 7 l izing mixA therein spaced therefrom, a cup attached to the lower end of the Zinc tube, a

I supply of activatingmaterial in the cup normally out of contact with the mix and adapted to be moved into contact therewith by relative longitudinal adjustment of the cup on the tube to activate the cell, and means adapted to'provid'e an air-tight seal between the cup and tube in both the active and inactive positions.

7. A dry cell of the kind described, com? prising a hollow zinc electrode, a depolarizing mix bobbin therein spaced therefrom, a cup attached to the lower end of the hollow electrode, a coating of waterproof material on the inside of the cup and a supply of activating material in the cup normally outl of contact with the mix and adapted to be and boss being adapted to retain the cup onl the end of the tube in two positions corresponding with the active and inactive conditions of the cell, a supply of activating materialin the cup normally out of contact with the mix in one of said positions and meable mass by relative longitudinal adJusty ment of the zinc and receptacle to activate the cell.

10. A dry cell of the kind described, comprising a tubular zinc electrode, a depolarlzing mix therein spaced therefrom,"a permeable mass between the mix and zinc tube, a cup adapted to be attached to the lower end of the zinc tube and a. supply of liquid in said cup normally ont of contact with the mix and permeable mass and adapted to be moved into contact therewith by relative longitudinal adjustment of the tube and cup to activate the cell. 1

In testimony whereof, I affix my 4signature.

RAYMOND C. BENNER. 

